# How to Write a CV in Kenya (With a Sample) > How to write a CV Kenyan employers shortlist: the sections to include, what to leave out, a sample layout, and how to write a CV with no experience. Original page: https://cazini.co.ke/guides/how-to-write-a-cv-kenya Updated: 2026-11-03 · Cazini (Paul Omondi) A good Kenyan CV is **two pages**, starts with your contact details and a short profile, lists your experience with your most recent job first, and shows results rather than duties. It leaves out personal details an employer does not need, and it is tailored to each job you apply for. Below is the structure recruiters in Kenya expect, a sample layout you can copy, and what to do if you have little or no experience. ## The sections of a CV, in order ### 1. Contact details Your full name in large text, then on one line: phone number, a professional email address, your town (for example "Nairobi" or "Ruiru, Kiambu"), and a LinkedIn link if you have one. Use an email address with your name in it, not a nickname. ### 2. Profile (three or four lines) A short summary of who you are and what you are looking for, written for the job: > Customer service professional with three years in a busy Nairobi call centre, handling 80+ calls a day with a 92% satisfaction score. Fluent in English and Kiswahili. Looking for a team leader role in customer experience. Avoid empty phrases like "hardworking team player". Give facts that prove it. ### 3. Work experience List jobs from the most recent backwards. For each one: job title, employer, town, and the month and year you started and left. Then three to five bullet points that show **what you achieved**, with numbers where you can: - Weak: "Responsible for sales in Westlands." - Strong: "Grew monthly sales in my Westlands territory from KES 400,000 to KES 650,000 in eight months." Include internships, industrial attachment and relevant volunteer work here too, labelled as such. ### 4. Education Most recent first. For a degree or diploma, give the course, institution and year, and your class or grade if it helps you. For KCSE, give the school, the year and your **mean grade**. You do not need to list primary school. ### 5. Skills and certifications Specific, checkable skills: software you use (Excel, QuickBooks, Sage), languages, a driving licence class, professional registration (for example ICPAK or the Nursing Council). Short courses count if they are relevant. ### 6. Referees Three referees with their name, title, organisation, phone number and email. Ask each one first, and tell them which jobs you are applying for so they are not surprised by a call. "Referees available on request" is fine if you are short of space, but have the list ready. ## What to leave out - **ID number, date of birth, marital status, religion, tribe.** You do not need these to be shortlisted. The Data Protection Act 2019 requires employers to collect only the personal data they actually need, so give these on the employer's own forms if and when they ask. - **A photo**, unless the advert asks for one. - **Your salary history.** Discuss pay at the interview or offer stage. - **"Curriculum Vitae" as a heading.** Your name is the heading. - **Copies of certificates.** Attach them only if the advert asks for them. > **Make your CV readable by software.** Many employers, including those hiring through Cazini, screen CVs with software that reads the text and ranks it against the job. Use standard headings (Experience, Education, Skills), avoid text in images, tables or two-column layouts, and include the key words from the job advert where they genuinely describe you. ## A sample CV layout > **JANE WANJIKU MWANGI** > 0712 345 678 · jane.mwangi@email.com · Kasarani, Nairobi · linkedin.com/in/janemwangi > > **PROFILE** > Accounts assistant with two years' experience in payroll and accounts payable for a 120-person manufacturer. CPA Part II. Looking for an accountant role. > > **EXPERIENCE** > Accounts Assistant, Example Manufacturers Ltd, Nairobi - March 2024 to present > - Process monthly payroll for 120 staff, including PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and Housing Levy, with zero late filings. > - Reduced supplier payment delays by reconciling statements weekly instead of monthly. > > Industrial Attachment, county revenue office, Nairobi - May to August 2023 > - Helped taxpayers with registration and payment queries at the service desk. > > **EDUCATION** > Diploma in Accounting, [your college], 2023 > CPA Part II, KASNEB, 2024 > KCSE, [your school], 2019 - Mean grade B- > > **SKILLS** > QuickBooks, Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP), iTax, English and Kiswahili > > **REFEREES** > Three referees, with name, title, organisation, phone and email. ## How to write a CV with no experience If you have just finished KCSE, college or university, put **education first** and build the rest of the page from what you have done: - **Attachment and internships** - describe what you did and learned. - **Projects** - a final-year project, a business you ran, a website you built. - **Volunteer work and leadership** - church, youth groups, school clubs, student leadership. - **NYS service**, if you did it. - **Short courses** - for example free digital-skills training through government programmes. A one-page CV with real detail beats two pages of padding. ## Tailor it to every job Before you apply, read the advert and move the most relevant experience and skills to the top. If the advert asks for "experience with M-Pesa reconciliations" and you have it, say so in those words. Ten tailored applications get more interviews than fifty identical ones. Send your CV with a short cover letter or application letter - see [how to write a job application letter in Kenya](https://cazini.co.ke/guides/job-application-letter-kenya). For public-service jobs, you will also fill in a profile on the [PSC jobs portal](https://cazini.co.ke/guides/government-jobs-kenya-psc-tsc). ## Frequently asked questions ### How long should a CV be in Kenya? Two pages is right for most people. A fresh graduate or KCSE leaver can fit on one page; senior candidates with long careers can go to three, but rarely more. ### Should I put my ID number and date of birth on my CV? No. A CV goes to many people, and your ID number, date of birth, marital status and religion are personal data an employer does not need to shortlist you. Give them later, on the employer's own forms, if you are hired or the advert specifically asks. ### Should I include a photo on my CV? Only if the advert asks for one. Most Kenyan employers do not need a photo to shortlist, and it takes space from your experience. ### How many referees should I include? Three, unless the advert says otherwise. Choose people who have supervised or taught you, ask their permission first, and give their current phone numbers and emails. ### Should I send my CV as Word or PDF? PDF, unless the advert asks for Word. A PDF keeps its layout on every phone and computer. Make sure it is a real text PDF, not a scanned photo of a printed CV.